ComplaintsforAdams Brothers Automotive

• Initial Complaint

  15/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing to file a complaint against Adam's Brothers Automotive *** ****** ******** *********. I recently had taken my 2000 Volvo S80 to Adams Brothers Automotive for repair or more specifically the engine was idling rough when the car was running at operating temperature. This was the exact information conveyed to the garage. Over several days of going back and forth with the owner Jack ***** the mechanic had found vacuum leaks which were associated with turbo pipes which were replaced by the garage. The mechanic also performed diagnostic tests on the car more specifically on the engine coils on the car and found nothing wrong with the coils.I had called Jack about the car 5 days later and had said it was ready to be picked up . There was an engine light on the dash which Fred *****(son) indicated that was of no concern and the car is operating fine in a phone conversation previous to picking up the car. On the way home from the garage I was driving along and noticed the car starting to run rough and pulled over then proceeded to call the garage and spoke to Jack ***** to inform him the car wasn't running good and wasn't fixed and was running exactly the same as when I brought it in. He said to bring it back and had suggested they have to run more tests on it. At this point I felt very apprehensive about going back to a garage because they had just assured me the car was operating fine. That was Friday late afternoon and needed to get home at this point. Over the weekend I decided to take the car to ********* *** ****** which I've taken my vehicles to many times and have been very satisfied by the work they've done. I dropped it off the following Monday morning engine light still on and running rough and by lunch time Dave the owner of the garage had done a diagnostic and concluded that one of the engine coils were faulty and needed replacing. After it was replaced and engine code cleared the car was operating properly. The cost for parts and labor were $******* Keeping in mind Adams Automotive said everything was fine with the vehicle .I had called Jack ***** to talk about what had happened with the other garage and maybe consider an adjustment to the bill and he not only refused any suggestion of that after explaining I'm paying for the same work twice difference being *** ********* ****** actually resolved the problem. He had suggested he wasn't sure what kind of magic they were doing at the other garage which ended up being simple basic mechanics. I took this vehicle to Adams Brothers Garage originally because I thought they specialized In Volvo and would know how to repair it. It's really sad because I was only looking to have a partial and fair reimbursement .The cost at Adams Brothers was $******* and which there was nothing fixed or resolved.

  

  Business response

  24/06/2024

  *** ** ******* ****** *** ** ******* We are responding to the complaint filed with you by Mr. Len ******. On or around May 9, 2024, Mr. ****** brought a 2000 Volvo S80 to our business for a rough running engine specifically when at operating temperature. Check engine light was on as well. Diagnostic scan performed. This led to the following procedures. Tested the 6 ignition coils in engine by unplugging each separately, with a corresponding drop in RPM in each. This indicated that the coils were all operating. Next each spark plug was checked by removing to inspect ceramic and wear on electrode. All appeared recent and functional. Engine was misfiring intermittently when hot or cold. Further testing was performed by replacing each coil separately with a new coil in sequence. This required a reassembling for each cylinder tested. During this procedure tech found ignition coil wire #6 was bare and repaired with insulator paint. We also noticed that the plastic turbo pipes had cracks where they were connected to each other. They were leaking the turbo pressure at those cracks. Replaced the turbo pipes with good used parts, which would be hard to find elsewhere. During this procedure tech noticed 2 vacuum hoses cracked. Repaired with vacuum line. A hard reset of the computers was performed, and no codes returned including after the following. We road tested this car several times with different staff members and one very long road test at highway speed and encountered no more misfiring of the engine or engine light on. Mr. ****** picked the car up and paid his bill. He called back to our shop a few hours after leaving and said the car was doing the same thing as when he first brought it in. He never brought it back to us to check. We would not have released the car if it had not been operating as it should. Yes, I refused to make an adjustment to the original invoice as we corrected many problems the car did have and if an ignition coil had in fact failed totally after we had completed our work, it is possible. Nothing failed in our extensive final testing. Jack ***** ***** ******** ********** ************

• Initial Complaint

  13/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Adams Bros advertises themselves as experts in the repair of European cars. I brought them my 2004 Volvo wagon with an unusual coolant problem. I relied on their expertise to properly diagnose the fault and perform the necessary repairs to rectify the problem. I paid for that service but Adams Bros did not deliver; the repair did nothing to correct the fault. Due to their failure to provide service, *** ******** to a full refund. **** ******** *** ********* ********* ** ******* ** ********* *** ** ******** ** **** **** *** ***** ******** **** ***** ***** * **** ******* * ** *********** ** ****** * ** ******* ****** ********** * ****** * **** ** ****** ****** ********* *** ****** ************ 

  

  Business response

  30/01/2023

  Mr. ******* complained about losing coolant. We found that combustion gases were getting into the coolant. The customer, Mr. *******, agreed to have us remove the cylinder head to investigate. Our technician found a lump under the head between Cylinders # 2 and 3. This was the source the leak. He also found that #3 cylinder was washed out. I called Mr. ******* with this evidence and received permission to proceed with the valve train repair with a new head gasket kit.

  The procedure went well. Tech saw evidence of #1,2 and 3 being punched some time before we saw the car. This damage  likely caused by a blown timing belt. The only other time we had this car in our shop was April , 2017. We did an inspection and had noted to him that Volvo recommends that the timing belt with the tensioner and idler pulley be replaced at a maximum of 10 years of use or 105000 miles. To our knowledge he did not heed that advise.

  Mr. ******* picked  his car up and shortly afterward called to complain about coolant consumption again. He brought his car back to our shop to inspect. We scoped the cylinders with an endoscope and found cylinder #3 compromised.

  When he picked the car up again, he was told that the solution was to find a replacement engine. He made quite a scene ********* ******* *** ********* ** **** right in front of several of our customers.

  Fred had done some internet searching to find an engine but with his kind of ***** attitude we opted to not pursue further business with him.

   

  Customer response

  13/02/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response from Adams Bros does not address the fact that they did not repair my car.

  Their assumptions about lumps and punches and timing belts *** ******** ******** ** ********* *** ***** *** **** reinforces the fact that they misdiagnosed the fault with my vehicle. *** *** *** ****** ******** **** ******** *** ******* *** ****** **** *********** *** ***** ***** ********** ** ***** ********* 

  And it is also untrue that Adams Bros “opted not to pursue further business” with me as discussions regarding engine procurement went on for weeks after picking up my car. *** ****** ****** ********** ********* ******** *****

  Although I may have been angry when picking up my car I made no ******* nor caused a scene; ******* I stated that ***** **** **** ** ********** *** ****** * ***** **** * ********* *** if that didn’t yield results that I would take them to court to recover my funds.

  When I approved their estimate I contracted Adams Bros to investigate, properly diagnose, and then correct the coolant problem with my car. They neither properly diagnosed nor repaired the coolant issue. I paid for a service that Adams Bros did not provide. My car is in the same state of disrepair that it was when I brought it in to them *** **** **** ******* *****. * ** ******** ** * **** *******

  I stand by my actions and words.

  Voyo *******

   

  
  
  ********** ***** *******

  

  Business response

  24/02/2023

  Our response to Mr. ********* rejection of our initial response to this complaint.

  Mr. ******* says that we did not fix his car.

  The oil had no coolant in it and the coolant did not have oil in it. We did find that the head gasket was leaking. We found a lump on the top of the engine block between #2 and #3 cylinders. We removed it with emery cloth. There was previous damage to the top of the pistons #1, #2 and #3 as they had been impacted by engine valves. Cylinder #3 washed out from the coolant leak. The cylinder head was not the original. We called Mr. ******* with this evidence and were given permission to go ahead with the valve train repair with the new head gasket kit. Our diagnosis was not a mistake! We cannot be responsible for hidden damage that was not detectable during the head gasket repair.

  We did not make a mistake!

  Jack *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩